My journey with Green SuperCamp Australia began in 2012, when I was gifted a full scholarship to attend a senior forum in Bali. At the time, I was halfway through my final year of high school and very focused on achieving academically. I was school captain of my high school, working on the weekends and volunteering in community based programmes in my spare time. With so much going on for me, I found myself extremely stressed and run down. I thought I was too busy, and definitely too ‘cool’ to be heading to a camp in my school holidays. Nevertheless, I went along with my younger brother to SuperCamp and it turned out to be an incredible blessing. It been a big part of my life ever since!
As a camper, I found that the Quantum Learning strategies shared at SuperCamp gave me the cutting edge and extra boost I needed to excel further in my HSC. I’d been struggling with a condition called ‘trauma dyslexia’ at school and Quantum Reading allowed me to really re-frame my approach to reading. The life skills woven throughout the curriculum really opened my eyes to the concept of self reflection and self work. I found the 8 Keys of Excellence helped me to articulate my goals and feelings. I am an introvert, and while at SuperCamp I listened intently to what the Facilitators shared with us. I’d never had a ‘teacher’ so full of energy and so passionate about what they had to say and I was inspired by the confidence and worldliness of the Team Leaders. Carrying this experience home with me, I found myself having realisations and developing new aspirations long after my actual experience at camp was over, which turned out to be a real gem for me.
I became a Team Leader as soon as I was old enough (19!) which felt like a very long two year wait (this was before the Leader in Training experience existed, otherwise I would have jumped at the chance!) I participated in both local and international programmes, which fuelled my desire to keep being a part of this world shifting program. The training that the staff team go through before campers actually arrive opened my eyes to the depth of research that goes into the foundations of the program. I loved learning more about the ‘why’ behind the way camp is set up, and about expanding my personal leadership and communication skills. After team leading at over 15 programmes across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore I jumped that the chance to become Camp Coordinator one summer at a SuperCamp in Bali. I couldn’t believe that 4 years later, there I was right back where I started- but this time running the program. I felt I had come full circle.
In the following months, reflecting on the privilege it was to shape and run an entire programme, I knew there was more opportunity for me to give and grow within SuperCamp and so I set a goal to become a Facilitator with Green SuperCamp Australia. In June 2017, I was so lucky to have been given the opportunity to travel to America to train with Quantum Learning to become a Facilitator. This was one of the most radical intellectual and emotional educational growth experiences I have ever had. I knew from my past experiences just how powerful the words of Facilitators can be. I had seen it done masterfully before and knew that I wanted to become one of those magnetic, empowering speakers whose voices had resonated with me over the years. Facilitation is a constant process of preparing, presenting and then reflecting. I carry a notebook with me and jot down ideas for key talks or academic pieces that come to me throughout the day. Collaboration between Facilitators on pieces and constant feedback is something that keeps us striving to improve and hold ourselves to the highest standard. When I present, I am looking to put myself in the campers shoes, and consider how myself, as a camper, would feel receiving what I have to say. For me to connect to the young people who come to Green SuperCamp through facilitation is an incredible privilege and I am so committed to continuing to grow myself in order to be of greater service to them.
